


Runaway

by BobbieZ



Category: LEGO Monkie Kid
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, I love Red Son, Written mostly from PIF and DBK'S perspective, and I want him to know his parents do too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:08:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29780079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BobbieZ/pseuds/BobbieZ
Summary: After failing another mission, Red Son finds himself unable to face his parents. So he runs away like the coward he is.The title's kinda bad but it was the best I could come up with. (Then again I didn't really try that hard.) Anyway hope you enjoy reading this!
Relationships: Princess Iron Fan & Demon Bull King, Red Son & Demon Bull King, Red Son & Princess Iron Fan, Red Son & Princess Iron Fan & Demon Bull King
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> I really like and Red Son, and I like to hope PIF and DBK's love for him isn't as conditional as the show depicts. I just want good things for he boy, y'know.

He was terrified. He was scared and nervous and on the verge of a breakdown.

Red Son had failed his parents again, and he didn’t want to face them. They were growing tired of his defeats, and he could see it in the way they talked to and about him. When Mother spoke to him, her words were cruel and bitter and cut like knives. Her insults grew worse with every passing loss. Whenever he’d overhear his parents talking about him, they always sounded so disappointed.

No matter how hard he tried, they were never satisfied. Didn’t they know he was trying his best? 

So, there Red Son stood, scared and ashamed. The door to the throne room looming over him menacingly. He was supposed to be reporting to his mother like he usually did after every mission, but he couldn’t bear to face her biting words or his father’s disappointed gaze.

So instead, he ran. 

He wasn’t sure where he was running to, but he couldn’t stay here.

Red Son ended up going to the abandoned building that had once housed the staff that trapped his father. It was the only place he could think to go. He had no friends or any other family that he knew of, so he had no one who could house him.

For hours, Red Son sat alone in what looked to be an abandoned conference room. His thoughts reminded him how much his parents hated him and how big of a failure he was. He was just a stupid, weak little coward, and he’d never be able to face his parents.

The impulsivity of his decision only struck when he heard his stomach growl loudly around sunset, the time he usually had dinner with his mother and father.

Fuck. He hadn’t thought to bring any money, food, or clothes with him. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_ , he thought. How had it not occurred to him to bring any of the essentials needed to live on his own. As much as the idea disgusted him, he could go without a change of clothes. He could go some time without food, but he would still need to eat eventually. And everything after that?

Gods, he was such a dumbass.

Princess Iron Fan was sitting on her husband’s lap, talking to him about one of their son’s latest inventions. She was proud of him, though you wouldn’t know it from the tone of her voice or the backhanded compliments she gave. The sun was beginning to set, indicating it was almost dinnertime.

“That’s odd,” the demoness vaguely noted.

“What’s wrong, my dear?” Demon Bull King asked, looking closer at the blueprint. He assumed something was wrong with the design, though he wouldn’t know what since he was unskilled at reading something like this.

“Our son. He hasn’t returned home yet.”

“Oh, your right.” the bull demon hadn’t noticed his son’s absence, far too engrossed in admiring his work.

“Do you think something happened to the little fool?”

Though her tone was bitter and demeanor uncaring, he could sense his wife’s growing concern.

“He could simply be in his room.”

“That doesn’t make sense. He knows to immediately report to me after every mission,” Rakshesha said, growing increasingly agitated.

“Rakshesha, my dear, you know how worn out our son is when returning from battle. He could have been too exhausted to make a report.”

“Fine,” she huffed, “I suppose we can check the weakling’s room.”

The bull demon gently lifted his wife off his lap and set her down on the ground with one enormous hand. He then got off his throne, shrinking down as to better traverse the much smaller hallways. Despite having diminished his size, Demon Bull King still towered over Princess Iron Fan by about two feet.

Once the couple finally made it to Red Son’s bedroom, they knocked on the door, calling the boy’s name. The lack of response concerned the demoness. Red Son was a sensitive sleeper and would have woken up at the sound of knocking. When they opened the door, there was no sign of Red Son. Princess Iron Fan felt her stomach drop. 

“Uh, maybe he’s in his workshop,” Demon Bull King suggested after seeing his wife’s face pale.

“Yes, let’s try there,” she said, her voice wavering slightly.

The two hurriedly walked to their son’s workshop, anxious to see if he was there.

The workshop door was slammed open with a gust of wind.

“Red Son!” Princess Iron Fan called out. There was no response. She called the prince’s name louder as she began walking through the workshop. Still, there was no response. The couple searched the room and found nothing but a handful of bull clones. The demoness was growing panicked, thoughts filled with all kinds of horrible imaginings as to where her son could be.

“You!” she screamed at a passing bull clone. “Start searching for my son! I want you to search every inch of this palace. Leave no pebble unturned and spread the message.” 

Princess Iron Fan paced back and forth in the throne room, her hair floating slightly. Gentle winds followed her as she moved. It was a tell-tale sign of her distress. Whenever the demoness got intensely emotional, her powers would react, gusts of wind coming out of nowhere. 

It had been over two hours since the palace-wide search began. No reports of Red Son had come. The couple had tried detecting his magical signal, but they couldn’t find it. The prince was either hiding it or was trapped somewhere that concealed it for him, further concerning the two. They wanted to expand the search to the rest of the megapolis, but it was getting late. Plus they didn’t know where to start looking. The prince spent almost all of his time in the palace. They couldn’t ask anyone where to look because, again, he spent most of his time in the palace and had no friends as a result.

“What about the Little Thief?” suggested Demon Bull King.

“What about him?” the Demon bull Queen questioned, stopping in her tracks.

“He’s the only other person our son talks to. Maybe he knows something.”

She thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Sleep did not come easy for the demon couple. Nightmares plagued Princess Iron Fan. She constantly woke up terrified, her heart pounding in her chest and body trembling. DBK was always there to comfort her until she could fall back asleep. When she wasn’t awake or showing signs of being trapped in a nightmare, the bull would sit next to her, getting consumed by guilt and shame. He felt like it was his fault his son had run away. He had been gone for _centuries_ , leaving his family to clean up his stupid mess. Upon returning, you’d think he would take time to spend with his wonderful family. But no, he just goes back to his idiotic, power-hungry ways, dumping more expectations and work onto his dear Red Son. Not once did he ever say thank you for all the hard work the boy did when he was and wasn’t home.

MK walked back to the tuk-tuk, quietly mumbling the lyrics to the song he was currently listening to on his headphones. It was a nice, quiet morning. He’d just dropped off an order and was about to get back on the road to deliver more. MK just pulled onto the road when suddenly a pillar of wind appeared meters away from the vehicle. He stopped immediately, horrified that he almost hit something or someone. His shock wore off when he realized that it was none other than Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King (who was noticeably smaller).

The noodle boy jumped out of the small vehicle before brandishing his weapon.

“What are you doing here?”MK asked as he got into a defensive stance.

“Calm down, Little Thief. We’re not here to cause trouble,” said DBK, sternly. “We’re looking for Red Son.”

“What do you mean you’re looking for Red Son? He’s missing?”

“Unfortunately, yes. He went missing yesterday,” Her eyes were red like she had been crying.

“I’m so sorry.”

“We were hoping you could help us find him,” said Rakshesha. She sounded annoyed, but she didn’t look like it. She looked tired, and her eyes were red as though she had been crying.

“While I’m happy to help, why would I know where Red Son is?”

“You’re the only person we know he talks to. We thought maybe he told you something before running away. He doesn’t have any friends.”

MK felt heart break a little when he heard that. He knew what it was like to not have friends. He was an outcast in high school. No one ever wanted to talk to the weird trans kid who was way too into Monkey King legends. MK shook himself from his thoughts. He didn’t wanna dwell on his past. He needed to focus on the situation at hand.

Red Son woke up to the feeling of hunger, the sound of his growling stomach nearly startling him. Right, he hadn’t eaten anything last night, too stupid and panicked to bring food with him. Red Son thought of ways to get himself breakfast. He briefly considered begging before shooting the idea down immediately. Red Son was a prince, he would rather starve than have to beg for food. Besides, even if he was willing to beg, he doubted anyone would be willing to help the demon who’d been causing havoc across the city. To them, he was nothing more than a city-wrecking pain in the ass. All Red Son could do was lie there, hungry and alone.

MK had called Pigsy, Tang, Sandy, and Mei to let them know what had happened. They all agreed to help search for the missing fire demon. They each took on a different section of the city with the help of about a hundred bull clones. For hours they inspected every inch of the megapolis, put up missing posters, and asked citizens if they’d seen the red head.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that the group finally had some luck with the search. A young girl said while she’d been playing with some friends, she saw Red Son run past, crying, towards the abandoned buildings district. With that information, the gang, the Demon Bull couple, and the bull clones reassembled in the district to continue the search, a sense of hope filling everyone.

Pretty soon, shouts of “Red Son!” filled the area, alerting said demon. He could mostly hear the voices of bull clones, but he could also hear Noodle Boy, Noodle Boy’s friends, and even his parents.

Red Son was overwhelmed with emotion. At first he was overjoyed that his parents were looking for him. He wanted to scream and tell them he was right there. He wanted to run to them and embrace them in a tight hug. But, that joy quickly fell to terror because what if they were still angry at him for failing? What if they were even angrier because he’d decided to run away? What if they were only looking for him so they could punish him?

Red Son sat there, body shaking with sobs. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his mind spiraled with “What ifs?” He was only broken from his trance when he heard a quiet, almost inaudible “Red Son?”

When he saw his parents standing in the entrance to the room he was in, he froze. He almost ran away again but stopped himself when he saw the look on his mother’s face. She had slight bags under eyes, and her eyes held this sort of quiet hope, like she didn’t fully believe that her son was right there in front of her. 

The demoness took a hesitant step forward. And then another, until she was briskly walking towards the boy. She dropped to her knees when she’s in front of Red Son and enveloped him in a tight hug. He feels her body shake with sobs as he wraps his arms around her, returning the hug. He feels his tears start again, this time caused by joy and relief. It’s not long before Demon Bull King joins in on the hug, becoming a sobbing mess like the other two.

When all three manage to calm down, they leave the room eyes red, faces streaked, but otherwise cheerful. They call off the search and thank the heroes for their help before heading home.

When the Demon Bull Family gets home, the first they do is have dinner. They all had gone several hours without eating. Red Son was the hungriest, not having eaten since the day before, so naturally he ate voraciously, somehow managing to look regal. DBK looked at his son fondly, glad to have him back even if he’d only been gone for a day.

“Why did you run away?” Princess Iron Fan asked out of the blue.

Red Son froze, his fork midway to his mouth. He felt his joy give way to nervousness, as he gently set the utensil down. The prince stared at the table as the air grew thick with tension.

“I was scared,” Red Son finally murmured.

“Scared? Scared of what?” Princess Iron Fan didn’t sound as accusatory as he’d expected. In fact, she sounded genuinely concerned, shocking the fire demon.

“I was scared of how you and Father would react when I told you I’d failed my mission again.” Red Son paused for a moment before continuing. “You’ve been growing more and more irritated with my defeats, and I was so scared of what you would do when I came back empty-handed again. I’ve overheard you talk about me or my work, and you always sound so disappointed or frustrated. I try my best but it never seems to be enough.” he finished, tears threatening to fall for a third time that day.

Demon Bull King’s chest tightened at hearing this. He had never thought that what were compliments would have sounded like insults to the young fire demon. The Bull King pulled his son into a too-tight hug before saying , “I am sorry that we hurt you. Truthfully, your mother and I do value your efforts; We’re grateful for all your hard work.”

Rakshesha got up from her seat to join the hug. “Your father is right, and I’m sorry for saying such awful things about you. Know that your father and I are always proud of you, even if it may not seem like it. We both love you so much.”

Red Son sat, there tears staining his face again. He was the happiest he’d ever been in centuries, more than thrilled to know that his parents loved and appreciated him.


End file.
